Ulterior Motives
by ClothedCortana
Summary: He's used to nightmares, but this was unlike any dream he had before... (This is, in my opinion, the best written out of all my stories.) M for language, graphic violence.
1. Ulterior Motives

Ulterior Motives /3

A Halo QuickFic By ClothedCortana

(WARNING! HIGHLY OOC!)

_

"You're finally awake."

The blue-eyed woman smiled at him from across the room, her brown hair covering her right eye.

"C-cortana? Is that you?"

The former AI smiled, "Oh, John. You recognize me." She stepped into a beam of light in the otherwise dark room. She wore a dress made of blue sequins, resembling her avatar's past color. She did a little twirl. "Do you like it?" She smiled at him, giggling. "I wore it for you."

John stared at her, speechless. She was so...beautiful. Her skin pale, her eyes a piercing electric blue, her figure near perfect...this had to be a dream. He gazed at her new form, a plethora of questions flooding his mind, "How did this happen?"; "How is this possible?". Even new, strange thoughts and feelings that cascaded through him, an odd tingling sensation, a small shortness in his breath, and he swore that just a second ago that his pants were a little looser...  
His thoughts were interrupted by an upward force pulling him off the metal slab he was sitting on. When the dizziness of the sudden movement faded, his vision cleared revealing that Cortana pulled him off the table. She gazed upward at him, "Are you alright?" she asked in a worried tone. "I thought you would be happier..." She looked down sadly. John shook his head rapidly, "No! I am happy, just sort of shocked. How are you even here?" Cortana smirked and placed her finger to his lips, "Does that really matter John? All that matters is that I'm here. That WE'RE here." She grabbed his hands and placed them on her hips, causing him to tense up. She giggled, "Are you blushing?" Blushing? His cheeks did feel hot if that's what she meant. John shook his head, involuntarily pulling her closer, "No..." Cortana wrapped her arms around his waist, placing her head against his chest. "You look pretty rosy for someone who isn't blushing." She rubbed her pelvis against him, causing him to gulp loudly. She laughed, "Wow, Chief! You're really tense! Are you sure you're okay?~" He nodded frantically, "I'm fine-! I swear-!" She pulled him even closer, rubbing herself against him once more. Cortana looked up at him, a sultry look in her eyes, "Is that a gun in your pocket? Or~ are you just happy to see me?" John gazed at her confused, the obvious innuendo completely going over his head, "Why would I have a gun in my pocket? I'm wearing fatig-MPPHH!" Cortana interrupted him by forcing a kiss against his lips. She pulled away, leaving John panting. "What was that fo-?"; "Shhhhh~" She placed her finger to his lips. "You'll find out soon enough, but for now..." She placed a kiss on his cheek, and pushed him back playfully.  
"Get on the table, John..."

He sat back down on the table, letting her sit on his lap. She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder. John still sat in shock, trying to grasp exactly what was happening. "What's wrong? You seem... surprised." Cortana looked up and smiled at him sweetly. "Just relax." She leaned in and whispered, "Do what comes natural." His lip quivered as he spoke, "W-whatever comes natural?" She nodded. Not knowing exactly what to do, he took a small lick on her neck. She made a soft noise, then giggled quietly. John smiled nervously, "Was that good?" Cortana nodded, "Yes, that was fine. Now, my turn~!" She pushed him down playfully, attacking his neck with kisses, licks, and nibbles, trying to get his attention elsewhere.

It worked. The tenseness escaped his muscles, his arms turned to Jell-O, letting the small yet powerful woman take control of him. John groaned softly, running her fingers through her hair. Strange feelings were festering inside him, feelings that were telling him to take control. Giving into these feelings, he gripped the ends of Cortana's hair tightly. She noticed and grabbed his wrist. "Uh, uh, uhh~" she said playfully. She waved her finger at him. "Let me have control, alright? You deserve this~"  
John shook his head and pushed her away from him, placing his hands on her shoulders, "I'm in control here, Cortana." He said in an angry-husky tone, "It's your turn now~" Cortana gritted her teeth slinging him back against the slab, Her eyes flashing a menacing red, raising her voice, "I'M IN CONTROL NOW, JOHN." She shook her head rapidly, her eyes blue once more "I-I mean, I didn't mean to-" John placed a finger to her lips, "Shh. You get your wish, you're in control." He flashed her a sultry smile. "I'm yours~" She laughed manically, "Damn right, you are~"

She pushed him down on the table, hard. His head slammed against the metal slab, causing his ears to ring. He never took Cortana as the dominant type, let alone the "like it rough" type. She held his hands in place with her own, taking his lips again. Each kiss and touch made him weaker. She laughed internally, who knew such a strong warrior would be brought to his knees so easily with just a few caressing touches and sweet words.

She needed him at her will, nothing more, nothing less.

She moved her hands under the table, still working on the distraction. She made her kisses more passionate, intoxicating the soldier even more. She revealed leather straps from under the table, and strapped his right wrist to the metal slab. John didn't notice at all, so entranced by the former AI's actions. Cortana repeated the same with his left wrist. As the weakened soldier lay there, dizzy from the surprise flood of affection, they pulled apart, saliva hanging from her lips.

She slid off the table, standing next to it. John smiled at her, weakly, "What are you doing?" She gave a dark smile. He now saw the straps. He tried to pull away, but Cortana stopped him by placing her hand on his. "I need you to stay still for the next part, love." He was confused for a moment, then smirked.

"You really are a kinky type, aren't-"

Out of nowhere, she pulled a 6 inch blade out of a hidden pocket on her dress. She put it to her lips, kissing it. "Neat, isn't it?" She smirked, then ran her tongue on the blade in a seductive fashion. John tried to understand her motives, was this all a part of foreplay?

"Doesn't that hurt?"

She laughed manically, "Nope! But it might hurt you~"

Cortana approached him with the blade, her eyes slowly turning a blood red. "This is where the fun starts!"

"Idiot!" John thought, "This isn't some sex stunt! She's going to kill you!" He started to flinch spastically, trying to break the straps. This only enraged her, and the blade slammed down on his wrist. It cut through the skin but only tapped into the diamond-hard bone. Blood spurted out of the cut, staining the blue sequin dress. What would make a normal human being scream in agony only made the Spartan flinch.

Cortana smirked, "Impressive! I'm going to have so much fun with this! Maybe more than I originally thought!" John scowled, "Fun?!"

"Yeah!" She mused, "Just think! A normal human only could last for maybe 15 minutes, but you might last an hour or more!"

"Cortana...I don't understand...why are you doing this?" He looked down at his bloodied wrist, red, hot liquid spewing from the cut. The pain didn't matter to him, more than the betrayal. He could take anything, but this was too much...  
She loved him, didn't she?

Cortana laughed manically, "Because, it sounded like fun!" She giggled then revealed a black stick. She pressed a button on it to create a blue plasma blade, like size of a small dagger. She pressed against John's right index finger. He could hear it sizzle as the hot blade connected to the skin. He gritted his teeth, letting out a low growl. She repeated this with the rest of the fingers. It was a slow, grueling process, cutting through the flesh and bone. When she finished, each finger on his right hand was severed. "Listen to me. What did I do to deserve this?" He said, trying to keep his composure. She smiled, and revealed a scalpel. "Nothing. You haven't done anything." She placed the scalpel against his cheek softly. "I know you're going to leave me, because I can't trust you not to. So i'm going to take you before that happens! I'd rather kill you than let someone take you from me!" Her eyes became a bright, neon red. She spoke in a twisted, cracked voice," If I can't have you...NOBODY CAN."

John tried to smile at her, "But you know I won't. I would never leave you for someone else. There's no one I'd rather be with than you." Cortana nodded, "Uh huh...don't care!" She sliced the scalpel up his cheek, causing another flinch. The blood oozed from the cut onto the slab. She put the bloodied utensil down and put her thumb in the pool of red. She licked the bloody digit and smiled, "Salty!"

John looked on in horror, "Are you going to EAT me?!" Cortana laughed, "God no! What a waste that would be! I don't know what i'm going to doing just yet. Maybe I'll stuff you! Or maybe I'll fill you with silicone! So you still feel all mushy and alive. Then I can ALWAYS have you, and ALWAYS love you."

This was NOT his AI companion. This was the demented, twisted, rampant replacement.

"Cortana, I know this isn't you." She turned around to face him with a red-hot branding iron. "Then who is it, Chief?" She aimed it at his calloused left palm then bore it into his raw flesh. It seared the already scarred skin, causing John to convulse and writhe. She pulled it away to reveal a blood-red mark of a four-leaf clover. She clapped happily, "Oh! It looks so good! Now you have a lucky mark! For the luckiest man alive! Well, for now! Hehehe!" she giggled and placed her index finger on his nose cutely. He snapped his eyes shut to clear his tears.

Cortana noticed the water droplets on his face, "Oh, are you crying?" John turned away, "N-n-nooo." She kissed the non-bloodied cheek. "It'll be over soon. I promise. Because you kept your promise, I'll do my best to keep mine.

He couldn't decide what hurt worse, the burning of his palm or the sharp pain in his chest.  
She was going to kill him. The woman he loved was going to kill him. In cold blood. No knife could cut him deeper than the heartbreak he felt.

"Hey Johnny boy, I just realized something," Cortana gave him a smug grin and grabbed the scapel again, "you've been in this position before, when you were 14...and they cut you open," She made a long incison on his arm, bright red blood pouring from the cut. "I'm pretty sure you remember, when you were a kid?" she continued to talk as she made multiple cuts up on his wrists. "When they took you from your family, your friends. And they put you through hell, just because you were supposedly "lucky". They took away EVERYTHING." Cortana jammed the scapel through the still sizzling mark on his left palm, causing him to let out a faint growl. "Even your humanity..."  
"How do you even take that away, John?"  
"John?"

John shut his eyes tightly, trying to tune out his torturer's taunting tone. She slapped him, "Hey! It's rude to ignore someone when they're talking to you!" He clenched his teeth, "Shut up and kill me, you bitch."

He hoped being cruel toward her would hide how he truly felt. But she just laughed, "Be patient, and I will!"

She grabbed her 6 inch blade again and readied it at his neck. John closed his eyes tightly, awaiting the inevitable. Instead, he heard the ripping of fabric. He looked down and saw that his shirt was torn to shreds. "Now, with THAT out of the way, let's take a look at what i'm working with here." She giggled and blushed a bit, causing John to look at her confused. "It's funny, I haven't seen you shirtless in a while..." She laughed softly and for a moment, John swore he saw her eyes flash their familiar blue. Maybe the crazy part of her had gone away.  
But then she grabbed her nearby scapel... As her eyes opened again, they were still the menacing red from before.

"Look at all the these scars!" She exclaimed. "So many guidelines to follow!" Bracing the scalpel, she cut at the scarred flesh. All John could do was bite his lip, as Cortana stabbed and slashed at his being. The pain was dull at first, then became burning and sharp. Eventually it became unbearable. He let out a pained gasp, then screamed, "STOP! JUST STOP IT!"

Cortana pouted, "I thought you'd be tougher than this, Chief!" She gritted her teeth." It's hard to finish up when you won't-be-quiet!" John didn't hear her, he panted and gasped, getting dizzy from the loss of blood. It didn't matter how "enhanced" he was, he was human, at least a small portion of him. "Just kill me already, you TWISTED BITCH!"

"Patience is a virtue, John." He lifted and slammed his back onto the table, causing another surge of pain to course through his body. "FUCK VIRTUES!"

"Tsk. Tsk. Stop being so whiney." She grabbed a pair of pliers, sharpened at the end to a point.  
"Now turn your head to the right so I can see the back of your neck."  
John didn't budge. He wasn't doing anything for this red-eyed monster. She swung the pliers around. "C'mon John, i'm not the patient type." He spat at her, defiant, "Never."  
"Fine then!" She grabbed her blade again and jammed into his leg. He let out a cry of agony, his face tear-stained. Weakly, he turned his head to the right. Cortana smiled, "Thank you!"  
She grabbed the pliers and aimed at the opening on his neck.  
"You won't be needing this anymore!"

She jammed the pliers into his neck, and yanked the AI port from the hole. It pulled on the nerves, and caused an electric shock. The shocking sensation made him feel as if he shot with thousands of needles, that all broke simultaneously. John let out another painful screech, then panted, "Tell me it's almost over..."

Cortana scowled at him, her red eyes showing no sympathy, only apathy. "You're tired already?! You really are weak! I thought you'd last an hour...it's only been 35 minutes! You're no Spartan, you're a fake! An idiotic, heartless, fake! Yeah, we're done! I might you take you up on the "eat you" offer. I'd be more of a waste to stuff a weak, fake, imbecile! So selfish! Only thinking of yourself!"  
John panted, "Selfish?"  
Cortana glared at him, tears slowly seeping out of her eyes. "Yes, selfish." She dropped the pliers, and sat next to John on the table. She sighed and crossed her legs. "You remember don't you? High Charity?" She layed her head against his chest, calmly. John shuddered under her touch, half confused-half afraid. "I was alone for days on end. My only company? Some gravely voice in my head, taunting me constantly." She laughed half heartedly. "I don't know why I was so shocked on what he had to say." She hung her head. John's lip quivered as he tried to form words, terrified that if he spoke she would lash out. "W-why weren't you shocked?" He flinched, expecting the worst. Instead, Cortana turned to look at him. Her eyes had changed. The piercing, evil red eyes from before had turned to a cool, bright, shimmering blue. John gazed at them in awe. He couldn't hate her. Not when she looked at him like that.  
"Because it was the truth..." She sighed. "If I one day just disappeared from your life...I was just an AI. I could be easily replaced." Cortana continued, her eyes welling up with tears. "I was born to die. Only to exist for seven years. Never to love or live, just serve." She placed her hand on his cheek, "Never to truly be human." John shook his head, "None of that is true." Cortana scoffed, "Just give it up, Chief. I'm going to kill you no matter what you say." She stood up off the table. "And then..." She placed her hands in the air with emphasis, "My savior, my hero, comes dashing in to my rescue! I felt like a trapped princess being rescued from a horrible dragon, with tentacles!" She laughed loudly, her eyes slowly turning red again. She turned to glare at John, her teeth clinched, "Weelll, the joke was on ME! Because, turns out, coming back to get me was just protocol wasn't it Master Chief Petty Officer John 117? Just another mission for the mean green killing machine?" She began to get hysterical, "So! In the end, YOU DIDN'T COME BACK FOR ME! Not because of a promise, but because you needed the souvenir I kept! Selfish!"  
"You didn't save me because you promised! You didn't save me because you cared..."

She turned around and grabbed a cleaver. John's eyes grew wide, what else could she cut off?

Cortana glared at him, "You didn't save me because you needed me!" She was hysterically crying now, her face becoming wet with tears, "YOU NEEDED WHAT I HAD!" She slammed the cleaver down on his ankle, yet again blood spurted out, staining her cheek. John shook his head spastically,

"No I didn't! I did it because I cared!"

Cortana screamed. "SHUT UP!" The cleaver slammed on the ankle again, hitting the bone. John gritted his teeth,

"I couldn't live without you!"

She swung the cleaver multiple times while shouting, "SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" She panted, out of breath. "You're...lying..."

John shook his head, "No, I wouldn't do that..."

She straighten herself up and wiped her face, and threw the cleaver down on the table.  
"I guess we're finished..."

Cortana walked to the opposite side of the table, and grabbed a blunt object. "I guess I should be the unselfish one, and put you out of your misery."

"You're...going to ...KILL...me?"

She sneered at him, "You think you're going to survive with THOSE injuries? Not even you could do that."

"But, I have so much to live for...I do have a life you know."

Cortana laughed, "You're kidding! You were built to fight, and guess what? The war's over. You're only purpose is exhausted! YOU'RE USELESS! You have no family, no friends, nobody. You have...me. And you screwed that up too!"

She flung the object in the air to reveal it to be a sledgehammer. John glanced at her, giving her a broken smile.

"...i..love..you."

Cortana smirked, "I know you do." She lifted the hammer, aiming at his chest, and glared at him.  
"Goodbye, John."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"GAH!" John flung himself from his bunk, his sheets soaked from sweat, his face wet and sticky.  
"It was a dream, it was only a dream..."

He looked around, he was in the bunker, where he was supposed to be. He looked to his left. The holo-tank glowed florescent blue as the tiny figure on it was curled into a ball. John was surprised he didn't wake her. He lay back down on his bunk. The war hero was used to nightmares by now, but this was unlike any other nightmare he ever had.

"But it was just a nightmare." He told himself. "It couldn't happen..."

"What couldn't happen?"

John turned around to see Cortana standing alert on the holo-tank. "Did you have another bad dream?"

John nodded, "Yeah, it's nothing..." He put his hand on the pallet. Cortana sat, her feet dangling off the side of the pedestal, her hands placed on his fingers. "Whatever it was, i'm sure it can't hurt you."

"If only she really knew..." He thought.  
"Nightmares are nothing new for you, are they Chief?" She asked him, a small look of worry in her eyes. "Especially after what we've been through the past couple of years." John looked over at her in disbelief. "I'm not the one who should be having nightmares. YOU were the one trapped with a sadistic talking plant. By the way, are you feeling okay? Not "rampant" feeling?" Cortana laughed half-heartedly. "I'm fine...for now." She hung her head, "You wouldn't believe how happy I was to see you..." John chuckled softly, "Probably not as happy as I was." Cortana gave him her iconic, "You're kidding me" look. John shook his head, "Seriously, I was worried." She smiled at him, affection evident in her eyes. "Th-thank you, John."  
"No, I should be thanking you."  
"For what?"  
"For choosing me."  
Cortana laughed, "What can I say? I always fall for mysterious types." John smiled back at her, "Apparently, I have a thing for computers."  
"But John?"  
"Hmm?"  
"Why did you come back? Did you really want to?"

John remembered from the dream how she reacted to this question. He could almost hear the *smack!* *smack!* of the cleaver and her screaming at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face. So, he answered truthfully.  
"What was left on High Charity, was not only important to the mission, but important to me as well...and I, kind of needed the Index back."  
He scratched his scalp nervously, "Good enough?" Cortana smiled at him, "More than good enough. Perfect." He gazed over at her in disbelief. "One question."  
"What's that?"  
"Can AIs blush?"  
She chuckled, "I'm pretty sure they can't! That'd just be dumb." John sneered, "Well, i'm looking at one right now, and her cheeks are pretty rosy." Cortana scoffed, "You're sleep-deprived, that's just your imagination. Go back to sleep."  
"Look at that, now your whole face is red!"  
She gritted her teeth, "Hey! Go back t0 sleep or my whole body will go red!" He nodded, "Fine. Okay. But, don't do that weird thing where you watch me." Cortana smiled in response, "I make no promises. Good night, John."

THE End  
STORY COPYRIGHT CLOTHED CORTANA 2012  
CHARACTERS COPYRIGHT 343 INDUSTRIES; MICROSOFT  
Hope you enjoyed~


	2. PTSD

PTSD

_(IF YOU HAVE NOT READ "ULTERIOR MOTIVES", DO NOT READ THIS FIC!)_

It happened again...

John sat awake in his bed, perspiration dripping from his face and arms. His breath heavy and his vision blurry. He had that dream again.

He could almost see his AI companion's eyes glistening in raw hatred, the red pupils staring down at his blue ones, and the insane laughter that rang through his ears as she cut away at his being.

He shivered, remembering her hysterical crying and the cleaver, hitting his ankle giving off a loud *SMACK* as it connected with the bone. Nightmares, they happened a lot to the war hero, but this was unlike anyone he had ever had. Mostly, these dreams were about his comrades, the war, gunfire, and his former "family" the Spartan IIs. Never were they about his only true companion and friend, Cortana. He trusted her with his life through each battle, she trusted him with her piece of mind. Their connection didn't stop off the battlefield, they had a relationship with each other only few could obtain.

Was it a loving relationship? Or a friendly one? To bystanders, it was all speculations. But ever since John started having these horrid dreams, his outlook on his friend began to change. It started changing before that, actually.

Ever since he was told Cortana was going rampant, he starting looking at her differently. He didn't listen at first, saying he would protect her no matter the cost. But the scientists weren't worried about her safety, they were worried about his. They told him a bunch of horror stories about rampant AIs and their owners, how the computer turns against the creator in gruesome ways. John thought about what we was told for awhile. In his right mind he knew that Cortana would never hurt him. But, the stories were convincing. And he knew those scientists didn't tell him those things to spook him, they were warning him. But, what could she do anyways? She was a hologram, she couldn't touch him. Yet, she did have access to his armor's main functions and could lock up the suit itself. She could hurt him if she wanted to. But would she?

This was about the time John decided to take a nap, these life or death thoughts were killing him and sort of scaring him. He just couldn't imagine Cortana being so evil.

But, that's when he had that dream. That awful, terrifying, dream. He thoughts started to change, and his opinion on the situation started to shift.

But the dreams only got worse. Some he wasn't even in. But Cortana was in all of them. Killing innocent people, violently. One dream left him mortified, because he was joining in on the act. It left him sick to his stomach. What could he do to escape these dreams?!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cortana had noticed something different about John. He seemed...jumpier. More paranoid and scared of his surroundings. No one besides her noticed, and when she brought it up to him, he gave her a short answer and dashed off. She sat there, puzzled. Finally connecting the pieces she realized, he was scared of her. "Why would he be scared of me though?" She thought aloud, "What did I do wrong?" Ever since they returned and he talked to those scientists he kept acting stranger and stranger.  
Would he still act like this after she was transferred over into her fresh, new body? The concept of being "alive" excited her, but all these thoughts about her former recipient worried her. Having the ability to be solid gave her the chance to show him how she really felt. But, how could she do it if he was still so jumpy after the transfer?  
"I just hope he's as happy as I am."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
John knew about the transfer, it terrified him. In those dreams, Cortana was human. She was a living being and pretended to love him. Then she turned into this vile, cruel woman, and broke him down to tears.  
He wanted to be happy about the transfer, the thought of being with the one he loved thrilled him. To kiss her lips, to feel her skin, to wrap his arms around her, all possible.  
But these dreams and thoughts had warped all those fantasies into thoughts of horror.  
To stab him with a knife, to burn his flesh with a branding iron, to break him down to nothing.  
"It's only a matter of time 'till all that's possible..." He told himself, "I- just can't shake these feelings."  
"She going to kill you, she's crazy and you know that." His thoughts were interrupted by a voice in his head.  
"What? She wouldn't do that."

"Oh, don't be so naive. You heard what those spooks told you, didn't you?"

"That's only now, when she turns human she'll be fine."

"She won't be fine. She'll be worse. She might ask you for a nice screwing session in the hall closet, when really, she's just luring you into a trap."

"She would never-"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"John, who are you talking to?"

His conversation with himself was interrupted by the little blue hologram on the pedestal next to his bed.

"n-No one."

Cortana put her hands on her hips, "Well, I heard something going on in here. Are you sure you're okay?" John turned around away from her, "Yes, i'm fine." He began to walk away, but she stopped him.  
"You're happy about the transfer aren't you?"

John gulped, "Yes, just a little scared...for you." He opened the door,

"What is there to be scared- *SLAM!*...about..."

Cortana was left alone in the room, she sat down, thinking to herself. "I just want to know what's wrong..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The night before the transfer, John had another dream about the rampant AI. The morning of, he barely could get out of bed, but the scientists assured him he should be in the room during the transfer.  
Everything went according to plan, to John's dismay. But, they wouldn't allow the two to leave the facility just yet. They had a room set up for them, big enough to be a small apartment. As the newly redesigned Cortana and John walked into the room, her eyes lit up. "It's got everything! A kitchen, a living room, and...one...bedroom..." She said the last two words in a worried tone. Did they except her and him to sleep in the same bed? She looked up at him to see if he had the same reaction.

None. Not a glimpse of emotion was on his face. He had acted like a zombie all day.

Cortana scoffed and entered the bedroom. John stayed glued to the spot, staring at the kitchen cabinet, and the container of knives, all wickedly sharp.

"Imagine all the things she could do with those..." The voice in his head started to talk again.

"All the appendages she could cut off...not that you're using it anyways." John growled softly, hurt by the last part of that sentence. "Just shut up."

"Why?" The voice spoke again, "I speak the truth, and that's all. You're dead, Chief. Simple as that."

John jumped as he heard the door behind him open. He could hear Cortana talking, "Look at this cute dress they put in our, -er in mean the, closet!" She stepped out in a beautiful blue sequin dress, and twirled around in it happily. John could feel his pulse jump. It was THE dress. The one she wore in the dream. The one she covered in blood. HIS blood. "Well lookie what she found..."

"They even left this note on it, "Dear C, I hope you like this dress we picked out for you and Johnny boy's first night together. Hope you two have tons of "fun". But not too much, remember we live across from you, so don't be too loud?!" What are those guys implying?! We're not ...together..."  
She trailed off, giving John and longing look. "We're aren't together...are we John?" He looked away from her, wanting to say "yes" but fearful enough to say "no".

"Well?" She moved closer to him, causing John to back up. "I, um-, uh-"  
Eventually she had him backed up against the counter top, "Just tell me, please. Even if the answer's no."  
John's eyes darted back and forth, then that voice started talking again. "Well Johnny boy, the crazy bitch wants an answer, give it to her. Say no, stab her in the back and run."  
"...no.  
"Do it, Chief!"  
"...i said no."  
"NOW!"  
Cortana looked at him confused, "John? Are you okay?"  
"'Kill her before she kills you!"  
John still refused.  
"KILL HER!"  
She placed her hands at his hips, and gazed at him worriedly. "...John?"  
Feeling her hands made his adrenaline spike and he grabbed the knife behind him.  
"DO IT-  
NOW!"

"NOOO!" But, it was too late. Almost out out of reflex, he grabbed the knife and jammed it into Cortana's back. Slowly, she fell to the floor, blood pooling around the spot where she lay. She gave John a look that he could only read as "Why?", then collapsed back down. John removed the knife and sat on the floor, "What have I done?" He tossed to the knife in the sink and moved to the corner. "...she's gone...I killed her...she didn't do anything wrong...why did I..?" He trailed off. He gazed over at her, she was still breathing. She jumped up from his spot on the ground and pushed the room's PANIC button near the stove. He feel back down to the ground and placed Cortana's hands in his. What could he do now besides wait? John then felt a warm droplet fall off his cheek and onto the floor.  
A tear.  
It had been so long since he cried. But nothing was stopping him now...  
Softly, he sobbed. Hoping whatever god that was up there would keep the one he loved alive, and that she would not have to pay for his fatal mistake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minutes later, the facilities's medical team broke down the door. All they saw was a woman in a blue dress, lying on the floor in a puddle of blood, presumed dead. And a man, in the corner of the kitchen, his pants spotted with blood, his body shivering, and his face wet with tears. They could only assume what took place that night.

John was brought into the medical facilities Psch Ward to speak to the one of the orderlies, while Cortana was taken to the ER. He told the truth, he stabbed her in the back, and she fell to the floor.  
The orderly looked at him, his older eyes glistening. "I believe you, sir. I'm just curious what made you harm the young lady. You fought in the Halo campaign, did you not?" John nodded, and the man continued, "Would you say that maybe being in those battles would've left you scarred?" John groaned, not this again. He already had this conversation with many other spooks and he said the same thing each time, he's-not-crazy.  
"I believe you just have a simple case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD for short. Most veterans have it, it's very common."  
John shook his head, "I'm fine...I just want to see if Cortana's alright." The orderly shook his head, "I'm sorry, John. We can't trust you to be around her. You'll have to wait." But John wasn't the patient type. In a instant, he pushed his chair against the wall, and stormed out of the orderly's office.  
He ran to the front desk at the ER, and the woman directed him to one of the back rooms, afraid of what he would do if she didn't comply.

He opened the door slowly. Cortana was lying on the bed, her eyes half opened. The monitor next to her made a steady beeping. She was alive. Taking a huge sigh of relief, he sat down on the bed next to her. She sat up slowly, and gazed at him. He looked into her eyes, she wasn't afraid or upset. She looked, worried. "...john?"

John looked away from her, "I don't know why I did that..." She placed her hand on his, "Are you okay?"

He stared at her, how could she be worried about him? She just got stabbed by him less than an hour ago!  
"I'm fine, but what about you?"  
She gave him a sad smile, "I'm fine as well, the doctor's are saying you didn't mean to hurt me. That you might have-"

"PTSD, I know." He interrupted. "I'm not crazy."

She laughed softly, "I know, but sane people don't stab other people."

"Well, to be honest. I did it because I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

John then told Cortana why he had be so paranoid and jumpy around her. About the dreams, the rampancy horror stories, everything. When he was done, she just sat there, wide-eyed.

"...Cortana?"

*SLAP!*  
"OW! What was that for?!"

Cortana looked at him angrily, "That's for acting all paranoid and jumpy just because of some stupid dream! I was worried SICK about you for Christ's sake! And all this time it was some stupid scenario you made up in your head?!"

"Look, it was pretty believable an-MMPH!"

She interrupted him by forcing a kiss on his lips. She broke away then said softly, "I'd never do anything like that, no matter how crazy I might get. I'd never hurt you."

John smiled at her softly, "I wouldn't either...I love you."  
"I love you too." She smiled and wrapped her arms around him. He did the same, and kissed her on the forehead.

"But, you really are crazy."

"...you're worse than those freaking doctors."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


End file.
